Did the Hg bullet ever exist?
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I read somewhere- I think in an article on guns in movies- that this was totally bogus, and no such ammo exists, nor would it be useful. Problems like that are why Ian Fleming wound up using Geoff Boothroyd as his advisor, hence the "Armourer to James Bond" tag he often got. Of course, many have criticized Boothroyd's advice that Bond have a PPK. I suspect it wouldn't be the same if James pulled out a S&W bodyguard, although that might make more sense...:smile:
RB
RB
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Because mercury is a toxin when introduced to the human body, I think that the case could be made that there exists specific intent to commit premeditated first degree murder. At least that's what a prosecutor once told me. So, even a valid self defense shooting would become a murder charge because you were acting in a proactively aggressive manner in creating the load to start with.
IIRC the DiNero character Travis Bickle created some mercury loads in the movie Taxi Driver.
IIRC the DiNero character Travis Bickle created some mercury loads in the movie Taxi Driver.
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(cough, cough) Not commercially. But, if you have access to numerous old wall-mount blood pressure cuffs, you can obtain the Hg. Speer .45 HPs, and Barnes .44 mag HPs hold the biggest payload. Seal with a dollop of gasket seal. Pretty much the kind of thing you mix up right before you go to the range, or coyote calling, as I wouldn't trust the gasket seal to hold for long, in a mag.
VERY spectacular in watermelons and milk jugs.:biggrin2:
VERY spectacular in watermelons and milk jugs.:biggrin2:
mercury bullet
Doesn't anyone remember the assination on Pres. Reagan ?? He was shot with a 'mercury bullet' by Brinkley that day in 1981 .
I searched to verify my memory of that bullet and found some info, one of which follows :
Division of Forensic Pathology, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester, Royal Infirmary, PO Box 65 Leicester LE2 7LX, UK
True exploding bullets were first described over a century ago and, although not actually in use at that time, were prohibited under the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868, which states that explosive or inflammable projectiles, with a weight of less than 400 g, should never be used in the time of war. Examples include the Russian 7.62 mm x54R machine gun ammunition with an internal charge of tetryl and phosphorus, and later handgun cartridges containing Pyrodex charges, with or without mercury additives.2 It should also be noted that individuals can easily obtain instructions for the creation of their own bullets. The most infamous use of such bullets was the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981 by John Hinckley, who used "Devastator" bullets (Bingham Limited, USA) composed of a lacquer sealed aluminium tip with a lead azide centre designed to explode on impact. Although frequently referred to in works of fiction, they are rarely encountered in forensic practice, because sales have been restricted following the incident in 1981. Projectiles that have failed to detonate are also not as sensitive to movement and heat as mentioned in the article; the author refers to an article on this topic, but fails to acknowledge a follow up letter correcting Knight’s original mistakes.2,3 Burton has, unfortunately, reproduced these errors in his text. In addition, unexploded bullets are safe on exposure to x rays and ultrasound.4 The quantity of explosive is small and, if it fails to detonate on high velocity impact, is unlikely to explode during postmortem examination. We would indeed agree with the assertion that safety glasses should be used during necropsy examination of ballistic victims; however, as Burton himself details within his own book, such eye protection should be routine practice, regardless of the cause of death.
Doesn't anyone remember the assination on Pres. Reagan ?? He was shot with a 'mercury bullet' by Brinkley that day in 1981 .
I searched to verify my memory of that bullet and found some info, one of which follows :
Division of Forensic Pathology, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester, Royal Infirmary, PO Box 65 Leicester LE2 7LX, UK
True exploding bullets were first described over a century ago and, although not actually in use at that time, were prohibited under the St Petersburg Declaration of 1868, which states that explosive or inflammable projectiles, with a weight of less than 400 g, should never be used in the time of war. Examples include the Russian 7.62 mm x54R machine gun ammunition with an internal charge of tetryl and phosphorus, and later handgun cartridges containing Pyrodex charges, with or without mercury additives.2 It should also be noted that individuals can easily obtain instructions for the creation of their own bullets. The most infamous use of such bullets was the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981 by John Hinckley, who used "Devastator" bullets (Bingham Limited, USA) composed of a lacquer sealed aluminium tip with a lead azide centre designed to explode on impact. Although frequently referred to in works of fiction, they are rarely encountered in forensic practice, because sales have been restricted following the incident in 1981. Projectiles that have failed to detonate are also not as sensitive to movement and heat as mentioned in the article; the author refers to an article on this topic, but fails to acknowledge a follow up letter correcting Knight’s original mistakes.2,3 Burton has, unfortunately, reproduced these errors in his text. In addition, unexploded bullets are safe on exposure to x rays and ultrasound.4 The quantity of explosive is small and, if it fails to detonate on high velocity impact, is unlikely to explode during postmortem examination. We would indeed agree with the assertion that safety glasses should be used during necropsy examination of ballistic victims; however, as Burton himself details within his own book, such eye protection should be routine practice, regardless of the cause of death.
In the Patty Herst kidnapping (if memory serves me correctly) they used cyanide filled bullets. Not at all hard to do, get large hollow point , make larger with a drill bit if needed (can grind off nose of rifle FMJ, drill to neck of case), fill with desired substance (glycerin, paraffin etc) solder over the opening, it’ll make a believer of ya fo sure :danceban: :danceban:
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Quote
from David Penn, Keeper of the Department of Exhibits and Firearms at the Imperial War Museum, London, quoted on page 160 of Murder Ink (Dilys Winn, Workman, 1984)
"In The Day of the Jackal, Forsyth arms his assassin with bullets specially loaded with a mercury blob in a cavity, alleged to have a wondrously mind-blowing effect on their victim. Far out, but no way would they work."
I suspect that Mr Penn is referring to any special effect from mercury, as opposed to some other material of equal weight. Mercury is very toxic, of course, and very soft (liquid at normal temperatures).
RB
from David Penn, Keeper of the Department of Exhibits and Firearms at the Imperial War Museum, London, quoted on page 160 of Murder Ink (Dilys Winn, Workman, 1984)
"In The Day of the Jackal, Forsyth arms his assassin with bullets specially loaded with a mercury blob in a cavity, alleged to have a wondrously mind-blowing effect on their victim. Far out, but no way would they work."
I suspect that Mr Penn is referring to any special effect from mercury, as opposed to some other material of equal weight. Mercury is very toxic, of course, and very soft (liquid at normal temperatures).
RB
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Mercury
I cannot see as how Mercury inside a hollow bullet cavity would have any sort of practical Self~Defense application.
Mercury also needs to be "built up" in the human body as a metallic toxin...so it would not even add any immediate Stopping Power...as a poisoned bullet...not to mention the added STIFF penalties that the defensive shooter would be facing (as ExSoldier has already mentioned above.) ~
I'm best guessing that shooting a person with any bullet that contained any intentional poisonous substance would be an automatic felony.
People used to take Mercury orally to cure Syphilis. I guess it got rid of the disease and then the infected person shortly thereafter.
I also think Kennedy was shot with a Mercury filled bullet. Or one rifle in .223 caliber was a "back up" rifle & it was loaded with Mercury filled bullets.
Remember the Earliest Glaser Safety Slugs contained tiny lead shot or lead powder mixed with liquid Teflon? I think.
I cannot see as how Mercury inside a hollow bullet cavity would have any sort of practical Self~Defense application.
Mercury also needs to be "built up" in the human body as a metallic toxin...so it would not even add any immediate Stopping Power...as a poisoned bullet...not to mention the added STIFF penalties that the defensive shooter would be facing (as ExSoldier has already mentioned above.) ~
I'm best guessing that shooting a person with any bullet that contained any intentional poisonous substance would be an automatic felony.
People used to take Mercury orally to cure Syphilis. I guess it got rid of the disease and then the infected person shortly thereafter.
I also think Kennedy was shot with a Mercury filled bullet. Or one rifle in .223 caliber was a "back up" rifle & it was loaded with Mercury filled bullets.
Remember the Earliest Glaser Safety Slugs contained tiny lead shot or lead powder mixed with liquid Teflon? I think.
Take a Hornady,.458cal.,300grHP. Bore out the cavity with a inside neck deburing tool(so it weights approx. 281grs). Take a Fed 215 primer and seat it in the cavity with the firing pin side faceing outward. Put a very small bit of wax over it. Take an ordenary BB and set it ontop the primer. Then cover the entire opening with wax. Shoot it outta a Ruger #1H at 3000fps. Now that's EXPOSIVE !! (But I never did this.......I promise. ----------
The Mercury KY is writing about is Mercury Fulminate (or some related compound) originally used for blasting caps. The liquid mercury filled bullets would be hard to use safely, as their weight would be much higher than lead (mercury is much denser than lead), leading to dangerously high pressures. Mercury is also very chemically active, combining with most organic compounds and many metals, so I think a bullet filled with it and capped with wax would start breaking down almost immediately.
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